Mokena agrees to water system improvement project

Village joins multi-town effort to improve pumping of water to Southwest suburbs

December 07, 2013|By Pat Harper, Special to the Tribune

The Mokena Village Board has agreed to participate with Cook County, Oak Lawn and other communities in a major multi-year improvement project for the portion of the Lake Michigan water system that serves the village and some of its neighbors.

Mokena, along with New Lenox, Orland Park, Tinley Park and Oak Forest, buys Chicago's Lake Michigan water from the village of Oak Lawn, which is participating in a system-wide upgrade, according to Mokena Village Administrator John Downs. He said the upgrades will result in a significant improvement in the system's pumping capacity for the southwest suburbs. To pay for the project, officials have applied for Environmental Protection Agency loans of up to $160 million. The loans carry an interest rate of 2 percent.

Downs said $5 million will be saved by running the new and improved pipelines through open space, also lowering the amount of debt service. Noting the agreement's emphasis on equitable financing for all the municipalities concerned, Downs called the pact "most likely the best intergovernmental agreement I've ever been involved in." The matter was discussed at the Nov. 25 village board meeting.

While trustees, who voted unanimously for the agreement, are pleased with the improvement, they are also concerned about becoming what Trustee Don Labriola called "Chicago's piggy bank." Labriola said he would like to see more control, so Chicago, which has many residents with access to unmetered water, does not attempt to cover its budget with suburbanites' money.

Trustee George Metanias agreed. "There should be a clause to protect us," he said.

"We don't want water to be the new cigarette tax for the city," said Trustee Joe Siwinski, referring to the ever-growing urban taxes on tobacco products.

Trustee John Mazzorana pointed out that the village only switched its water supply after residents approved the idea in a referendum. "If we want to go back to wells, we can," he said, but added residents appear to prefer lake water.

Mayor Frank Fleischer said the agreement is a good one, hammered out with great effort. He called it an investment in the future.

"We just secured a water supply for the next forty-plus years," Fleischer said. "It will help us grow."

In other village business, trustees approved a $1.8 million tax levy for the coming fiscal year. Finance Director Barb Damron said the new levy is about $52,000 higher than last year's.

The tax rate remains relatively low at 24.95 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation, she said. The owner of a $300,000 house pays about $7,750 a year in taxes. The village share of that tax bill is about $134, officials said.

Mokena's tax rate is in the lower third among county towns, Damron added.